Tracking of Mental Health and Stress Levels of Students with Roll-out of Subject-Based Banding

21 Ms Carrie Tan asked Minister for Education (a) whether the mental health or stress levels of students are being tracked and evaluated as the new subject-based banding system is being rolled out in the 28 pilot schools; and (b) whether there are any observations on how the new system may have improved the situation in terms of minimising the labelling and stigmatisation towards and among students so far.

The Minister of State for Education (Ms Sun Xueling) (for the Minister for Education): The Ministry of Education (MOE) works closely with the 28 secondary schools piloting Full Subject-Based Banding, or Full SBB, in all aspects of the implementation, including the socio-emotional development and the well-being of our students.

The pilot has started last year and we are monitoring the implementation closely. Feedback is collected through surveys and focus group discussions with students and teachers so that we know how Full SBB is impacting student well-being, social and learning experiences and outcomes.

Findings from the first year of implementation indicate that students in the pilot schools have a more diverse network of friends drawn from across the different courses, compared to schools that have yet to implement Full SBB. They form stronger friendships based on common interests and treat their peers with respect regardless of course. It is early days yet, but there are also indications of more students adopting growth mindsets.

MOE will continue to work closely with schools implementing Full SBB in the coming years to better understand the impact of Full SBB.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Ms Carrie Tan.

Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon): I thank the Minister of State for the reply and I am glad to know that efforts are being taken to track the effectiveness of these recalibration efforts to our examination system.

I am aware through engagement with students and teachers that often, the other major challenge to mental health for our students come from expectations. And children respond to expectations of adults in their lives, whether their parents or teachers and often, their self-esteem rest on making the adults around them proud.

So, I am wondering other than the current efforts to recalibrate the examination system and the streaming system, are there current efforts by MOE to enrol parents as co-stakeholders together with teachers to redefine the narratives and expectations of what success looks like, to alleviate the stress that the students are facing in a rather hyper-competitive culture?

Ms Sun Xueling: I thank the Member for her question. MOE has been promoting the concept of multiple pathways to success and not just in relation to Full SBB. I think we heard the response from Minister Maliki earlier as well. There is a continuous conversation and continuous encouragement to society – parents, stakeholders and community partners alike – to expand the way we look at success and acknowledge multiple pathways of success. And this is to help our students develop a growth mindset and also alleviate any mental well-being concerns that may arise from academic stress.

So, it is a continuous effort and it requires really a whole-of-society effort.